I am preparing for a tibia LL of about 3.8cm (1.5 inches, to get me to a solid average height of 5'9.5"). I would do 2 inches, but willing to compromise since tibias take millions of years to heal. The main issue for me is time.
I know there are plenty of tibia diaries out there, but there are so many, I don't know where to begin. I am probably going to do what Cooper is doing (almost verbatim the same path, he did 6.5cm on femurs first) and go to Dr. Monegal and do Fitbone internal tibias.
I have some general tibia LL questions:
1. How is the pain level for internal tibs? I guess really only those who've done both internal femurs and internal tibias can really compare, but it seems that they're somewhat less painful (and you can sleep better) than internal femurs.
2. What is the physical therapy like (what do they have you do throughout lengthening)? From what I know, tibias behave differently than femurs, so I would imagine the therapy is going to be different.
3. This is what I'm most scared to ask, but about how long would consolidation take for an inch and a half? I spoke with one doctor and he said he believes I could be weight bearing after about 2 months post op (about 1 month distraction and then 4 more weeks on crutches). This is if I did an internal method, which I will be doing. But this still sounds way too good to be true...
4. Are tibias more risky to lengthen in the sense that as you're lengthening and consolidating, your legs don't have a solid base? I know when I was doing femurs and going up and down stairs, I never felt truly "at risk" because I at least had solid tibias to fall back on. This part worries me a bit.
*Correction - I meant the doctor I spoke to said I could maybe be partially weightbearing in 2ish months for 3.5cm (not 3.8cm).
Thanks MDoW. Does that continue to be an obstacle after the lengthening process is over? Do you think this would be a huge issue for me given that I'm doing a very small amount (3.5-3.8cm)?
Just wondering if anyone has any additional feedback? I want to make sure I'm going into this with my eyes wide open.
I'm also wondering about the implications of doing tibias after already having done femurs? I know not many on here have done both, but still wanted to put this out there.
Thank you, MDoW. If there's anyone I trust with questions on tibia LL, it's definitely you!
I'm also going to be doing an internal method to (hopefully) be able to weight bear sooner. Hoping to do 1.5 inches, but willing to even do as low as 1.25 inches, as I'll still be safely over 5'9" at night (and I can live with that).
The main concern for me is consolidation time. That's going to be a b*tch. I'm trying to prepare myself for the fact that I might have to sacrifice my job over this. 2 months maybe I can pull off, but not sure I can get 3 months off, even with disability...especially because I don't know if the doctor will be able to spin it in a way that I "needed" this (we used my "bow leggedness" the first time around).
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